Every Which Way
by WinchesterLicious
Summary: When Maxine comes into the picture, Dean begins to realize that nothing is ever simple anymore. She claims to be Bobby Singer's niece and needs help to find her supposedly dead mother. Upon agreeing to help her, he begins to question a few different things, but most of all his feelings for her...is she just someone he has grown to care for, or does he love her?


**A/N So this is my first Supernatural only story and I'm excited to be doing this! I just wanna thank all of the readers in advance and say don't be shy to leave a review; whether it's thoughts, comments, rants, what have you. Also, the part in italics is a flashback.**

Giving a short dark chuckle, Dean tipped the tumbler until all of it's contents were in his mouth, and gave a slow swallow, allowing the whiskey to run down his throat in a burning trail. Unfortunately he had been drinking so much lately that the numbing effects of alcohol seemed to be able to elude him. That didn't mean he couldn't try though, and try his damndest he did, to no avail. Especially after the confrontation with Maxine tonight, he just needed to get away, get out of his mind and escape for a little while.

Running a hand through his hair, Dean turned around and saw the blonde sprawled out on the bed. His eyes raked over her body, still clad in the short, skin-tight red dress she wore. She was curvy and looked like one hell of a good time, but he just couldn't bring himself to sleep with her. He had only left the rinky dink bar in the small town with her to prove a point to Maxine, or maybe it was to get under her skin. It also could have been because he knew that if he saw even one man so much as look at Maxine with a hint of anything less than innocence in his eyes; he wouldn't be able to stop himself from breaking their face.

So Dean drove Melanie, the blonde, home and hung around. Of course she thought she would be getting lucky, but an always so clever Dean managed to avoid all of her fliratations. It helped that she was buzzed pretty good in the first place, but Dean kept giving her shots from the bottle of Jack Daniels he found in her pantry until she passed out. Being somewhat of a gentleman, he carried her upstairs to her bed and drug a trash can next to it in case she couldn't hold her liquor.

And now here he is, standing in some woman's bedroom with no purpose, no plans, no nothing. Spotting a balcony through the french doors of the bedroom, he slipped out and revelled at the cool breeze blowing through the night air. Taking a breath, he made his way over to the railing and leaned on it, placing his hands shoulder width apart, and peering over the edge. There wasn't much to see except for a garden down below with a fountain.

He just stood there, letting the usual thoughts flow through his mind. There's the possibility of starting something romantic with Maxine, which the thought of made his heart feel a little lighter. But then the memories of Jo and Lisa came creeping up, reminding him that he wasn't cut out for relationships; that love wasn't written in the stars for him. Besides, he wasn't in love with her anyway right? Or was he? And then, he had to consider Maxine. She's not a hunter, she wasn't cut out for this kind of life. Hell, she about passed out the frist she saw something supernatural. She deserved the big house with the white picket fence, a house full of kids, and a man that came home to her every night.

Or maybe he could just spend one night bedding her; getting his frustrations out that way, until she's completely out of his system. Sometimes he even thought about ditching her, about just packing up some night and leaving her at whatever motel on the roadside they were at.

The longer he stood out here, the more frustrated he became; still not able to put things into perspective. He didn't know what was what anymore; struggled with right from wrong, unsure of which way is up and which way is down. Since last month, his life seemed to be flipped upside down. All since Maxine Lucas came strolling into his life; absolutely uninvited.

* * *

_ Maxine Lucas stared at the neon sign lit up on the window of the small establishment she was parked in front of, reading the name Diner's Delight for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past five minutes. Out of habit, her gaze navigated to the clock in her car, finally showing the numbers she had been waiting for, for the past half an hour. Eight o'clock it displayed, making her exhale sharply and snatch the keys from the ignition. _

_ In less than two seconds, she had exited the vehicle and locked the doors, and was approaching the door with somewhat jelly-like legs. She had no idea what to expect, but the auburn haired woman just knew that her life was about to get even more complicated than it already had within the past two days. As if she didn't already have the name and phone number scribbled on the worn piece paper committed to her memory, she glanced at it for the last time, making sure the information was correct before shoving it into her back pocket. _

_ Max pulled the door open, making several customers peer over with curiosity at the bell jingling overhead, signalling a newcomer. They all quickly went back to their food and conversations, except for two men sitting in a booth at the far end of the diner. Maxine was about to dismiss them, until the one not facing the window squared his jaw and studied her. She strode about halfway through the restaurant and paused, throwing out a one word question. "Dean?", she asked._

_ "Maxine?", his deep voice countered._

_ She nodded and allowed her feet to carry her the rest of the way hurriedly. "Hi. I'm Sam Winchester, his brother", the taller one with long hair introduced himself as he scooted further across the seat, making room for the redhead, giving a warm smile. _

_ Unshyly, Maxine slid in next to him, giving a small shrug at the motioning of Sam's hand towards a cup of unattended coffee. "Thought you might need a pick me up after a long drive"._

_ "Umm thanks", she graciously lifted it to her lips and took a sip of the steaming liquid, not oblivious to the looks of interest from both males in her direction. Her face twisted up briefly at the bitter taste. "Oops, forgot the cream and sugar", she gave a little giggle, watching the brothers give eachother a look of relief._

_ "So", Dean placed his elbows on the table and folded his hands together, whilst tilting his head slightly. "Tell me again why you're here."_

_ Max swallowed hard, not particularly caring for his stiff and seemingly unfriendly demeanor. She picked up a packet of sugar and a creamer packet, and began telling her story while doctoring up her coffee. "I know this is gonna sound weird, I mean I'm still having trouble believing it myself", the red head stirred the beverage mindlessly with her spoon. "But this lady came up to me in the elevator at work two days ago, telling me that my mom is still alive." The woman perched next to Sam picked up the mug between both hands, relishing the heat of the liquid, and took a sip._

_ A pair of raised eyebrows pushed her further along. "About two and a half years ago my mom died. Well supposedly", she shoved her lips to the side. "I was told that she was in an accident and burned when her car caught on fire. There was nothing for me to identify her by, but the last time I had seen her was that morning. Never heard from or saw her again. So I accepted it, the last remaining family member I had was gone." _

_ Maxine swallowed hard, refusing the tears attempting to well up in her soft brown eyes and continued. "The lady in the elevator, it was odd. Like why would some stranger just come out of the blue spouting this nonsense? She said she could give a beginning to start finding my mom. She told me to contact my Uncle Bobby. And...and", her gaze fell to the few granules of sugar next to the paper placemat. "She disappeared, like one minute she was there, next she was gone."_

_ "Wait", Sam exclaimed. "Your uncle Bobby. You got a last name?"_

_ "Singer. Bobby Singer." Miss Lucas didn't miss the way Dean's eyes widened from across the table and he leaned in, a more intense expression on his face. "But I didn't know I had an uncle. My mom never talked about him, or anyone else. She grew up alone with her parents -"_

_ An unexpected booming interrupted her, promptly cutting Max off. "Bobby Singer is your uncle?", came from the opposite side of the table._

_ "Yeah", she responded, her eyes darting around with wonder._

_ As if Maxine wasn't even there, Dean turned towards Sam. "Bobby didn't have any siblings. And after Karen bit it, that was it."_

_ She watched the younger brother grimace and put his hands up in the air in confusion. "I don't know man", he uttered._

_ Feeling like she needed to defend herself, Maxine went on. "I looked him up and went to South Dakota. Ironically I ran into the sheriff Jody Mills at the information center, who explained that he had passed away. When I told her that I'm his niece and what happened, she wrote down your name and number, told me to contact you. And here we are." _

_ "Son of a bitch!", Dean slammed his hand down on the flat laminated wooden surface, making her jump._

_ Maxine tensed up, feeling like a nuisance all of a sudden. "I-I'm sorry", she looked back and forth between the two men. "I shouldn't have come here, shouldn't have bothered you", she got to her feet and a few steps away, feeling her cheeks heat up as they conversated, her being the main subject._

_ "How do you know she's not lying? She could be anything...anyone, trying to gank us or, or...", the baritone voice stammered around._

_ "But what if she's not? Bobby was a dear friend to us and he'd want us to help her. We can't just let her walk away", the younger Winchester pleaded._

_ "Fine then", she heard, followed by a sigh mere seconds before she was caught by the arm. _

_ Maxine spun around, her face coming flush with Sam's chest. She stumbled back, lifting her head back to his height._

_ "We'll help you", Sam said._

_ Not in much of a rush to jump at the chance because of what she'd heard, she timidly glanced over at Dean, who was standing with his hands shoved in his pockets. He nodded his silent agreement, causing Maxine to let out a deep breath._


End file.
